The Federated Organisation of Sokoto State Students’ Association (FOSOSSA) has highlighted the achievements of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda with respect to scholarship advocacy, institutional reforms, students’ welfare, and sustained collaboration between student bodies and government.
The outgoing president of FOSOSSA, Comrade Yusuf Sabiu, spoke at a press conference in Sokoto to present the association’s one-year scorecard. Yusuf said the 2025/2026 administration was guided by accountability, transparency and selfless service despite operating without direct government funding.
The event, themed “One Year of Service, Sacrifice and Lasting Legacy: Presenting the Scorecard of the FOSOSSA Administration (2025–2026) and the Golden Jubilee Report (1976–2026),” also marked the association’s 50th anniversary.
Scholarship Benefits
Yusuf said the association successfully advocated for the payment of scholarships and school fees for more than 27,000 Sokoto State students studying in tertiary institutions across Nigeria and abroad during the 2024/2025 academic session.
According to him, FOSOSSA also facilitated the 2025/2026 scholarship verification exercise, intervened in the settlement of over ₦3 billion in outstanding tuition obligations and secured payments for students pursuing medicine, law and other professional courses.
He noted that the association strengthened students’ representation through sustained engagement with the Sokoto State Scholarship Board, the Ministry of Higher Education and more than 20 ministries, departments and agencies to address challenges affecting students.
On security and peaceful coexistence, Yusuf said the administration rebuilt relationships with security agencies, including the police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), organised a Student Peace Summit and represented the association at the National AI Peace Summit in Abuja.
He said that the administration resolved several student disputes, responded to emergency situations and intervened in issues relating to accommodation, electricity, water supply and the issuance of student identity cards.
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The outgoing president said the association also implemented educational and community-based programmes, including career guidance initiatives, the distribution of more than 3,000 exercise books to selected secondary schools, malaria prevention campaigns in tertiary institutions and donations of educational materials to orphanage homes.
Highlighting the association’s Golden Jubilee as a landmark achievement, Yusuf said the administration spent over nine months researching and documenting FOSOSSA’s history, compiling records of all former presidents from pioneer president Attahiru Jega to the present leadership.
He said former leaders of the association were contacted across Nigeria and the diaspora to preserve the organisation’s institutional memory.
“The Golden Jubilee is not merely a celebration; it is the preservation of our identity and history for generations yet unborn,” he said.
Yusuf further said that the administration established a functional FOSOSSA office within the Ministry of Higher Education, opened the association’s first official bank account, constituted a Judicial Council, appointed its first Legal Adviser and strengthened its constitutional framework.
He said the association also maintained close engagement with traditional rulers, heads of tertiary institutions and government officials while advocating for the welfare of Sokoto students studying in countries including India, Sudan and Ghana.
Despite the achievements, Yusuf lamented that the administration received no direct operational funding from the government throughout its tenure, noting that executive members and other officials served without allowances while many activities were financed through personal contributions.
He said the administration inherited an association without a functional office, official bank account, or operational vehicle but succeeded in addressing some of those institutional gaps.
According to him, financial limitations and logistical challenges made the organisation of the Golden Jubilee particularly demanding.
Yusuf said the administration was handing over a stronger and better-organised association with improved documentation, stronger institutional partnerships and a solid foundation for future leaders.
He expressed appreciation to the Sokoto State Government, the Ministry of Higher Education, the Sokoto State Scholarship Board, former FOSOSSA presidents, stakeholders, the media and students for their support.
“Leadership is not measured by the privileges enjoyed while in office, but by the positive impact created despite adversity. We assumed office with limited resources but unlimited determination, and today we leave with our heads held high,” he said.
He urged the incoming leadership to sustain the association’s advocacy for students’ welfare and educational development, saying stronger student institutions remain essential to advancing higher education and human capital development in Nigeria.
